Even during the first few games of the season, senior captains Aubrey Racz and Erin Mosher occasionally got an inkling good ol' No. 40 might still be around to inflict some damage.

But as the Wildcats soon realized, Katie Roth, a four-year starter at center, really is at the University of Hartford now. The 2011-12 season presented some intriguing challenges for that reason alone, but the Wildcats also suffered a key blow in November when senior tri-captain Erica Dailey was lost for the season after suffering a severe concussion.

Could Maple Hill still control the Patroon Conference without a returning player who averaged double digits and remain a viable Section II Class C title threat?

Yes and yes.

Maple Hill (14-1 overall, 13-0 league), ranked No. 7 in the state Class C poll, is on the verge of another Patroon Conference title. The Wildcats extended their league winning streak Wednesday to 93 games — dating back to the 2006-07 season — with a 48-11 win against Cairo-Durham.

Roth, Maple Hill's all-time leader in points (1,298), rebounds (756) and blocked shots (216), earned the Patroon Conference Most Valuable Player award as a sophomore, junior and senior and garnered Times Union Small School Player of the Year honors in 2010 and 2011. The program's best player is red-shirting at Hartford after suffering an injury during preseason.

More Information

Back at Maple Hill, there was a period of adjustment dealing with "life without Katie."

"Obviously we knew it would be a little different. I don't think a lot of people expected much out of us," Maple Hill coach Mark Bubniak said. "We knew it would be a bit of a struggle adapting."

"At first, it was really weird because you were accustomed to finding all different ways to get Katie the ball inside, and she would always somehow get it," said Mosher, who averages 6.2 points, 4.3 rebounds, 4.1 assists and 2.5 steals per game. "It took a little while to realize that she's not there anymore."

Maple Hill is winning basketball games this season with balance on offense and a defense that is limiting Patroon Conference foes to 19 points per game.

Junior center Siobhan Sorsensen is now coming off the bench and averages 7.1 points and 6.4 rebounds per game. Six different players have led Maple Hill in scoring during a game.

"Teams really don't know who to stop. We really don't have that one player where most things go through," Bubniak said. "It could be Siobhan at 6-foot-2 one time and Erin at 5-8 the next. Before, fans, officials and the opposition players knew exactly where the ball was going. ... I think we are playing our best basketball right now, and still have a lot of room for improvement."

"I'd be disappointed if we don't make a deep playoff run," Racz said. "Even though we no longer have Katie, we're striving and working toward the goal of really going far in the playoffs."